What's Normal Anyway
by IdolizedFan
Summary: With a bad-ass friend like Bea, Mae finds herself eager to break the agenda of normalcy.


What's Normal Anyway  
CHAPTER 1: A Drizzle of Truth  
 **I do not own Night in the Woods.**

\- O – O – O – O – O -

Mae wakes up to drizzle hitting her face.  
There is that faint ringing in her head again, as if someone is playing hypnotizing music inside her.  
She had grown accustomed to it anyway and treated it as a lingering thought from all the crazed dreams she had.  
Those were the days...

She hears a dog barking right under her, making her realize she had been dozing off.  
Dozing off!  
Why did everyone have to be away anyway?  
Gregg said he'd make up for it with a bicycle ride or something, while Angus offered a personal Demontower play through  
Bea, however, did not even bother to inform her of _anything_ and just added a note of being away online.  
Is the world conspiring yet again to make her feel bored?  
Heck, with the intermittent light rains, even the power lines will soon become too wet to be tiptoed on.  
Her Mom would laugh at her hypocrisy.  
Well, rain comes in positives and negatives!

Mae grunts in exasperation as she raises her feet from the apartment's third floor's edge and leaned closer to the walls to avoid getting wet herself.  
Annoyed already!  
Waking up should have something like a boost of physical capabilities or emotional resistance.  
Now that would be hella handy.  
She supposes she could visit Mallard again, but what if a repeated act within a single day eventually ruins the solitary feeling?  
Not with Mallard!  
Day be damned, even that horror kid is not present.

Mae considers just breaking a damn window, but remembers that Angus and Gregg live nearby.  
It can be bad for them, being associated with the coolest gal in town.  
Not that it is widely accepted now.  
There will come a time.

For what it's worth, there's actual beauty in the currently empty street.  
While it's not as spooky as Harfest nor as attractive as Longest Night, it has a charm that Mae can't quite put into words.  
And there aren't any _shapes_ to see.  
Just her hometown in its silence, ripples in the puddles around the street.  
If the soul is something gooey, then reality itself must be like those puddles.  
It's a wonderful mess to look at amidst the otherwise calming rain.

"Mae Borowski, not only a detective but also a philosopher!"  
Only the rain answers with its monotonous downpour, which makes Mae roll her eyes.  
If there's anything else that will-

The feline realizes an unmistakable blue sedan is present just below her feet, nearby the Snack Falcon, almost as if it had been parked as a form of greeting her.  
Where is Bea though?  
Just as she was wondering why her friend hadn't parked it closer to Gregg's workplace, Mae sees the crocodile step out of the restaurant below, leaving with a friendly farewell gesture.  
All of it is seen directly in the space between her feet, which would have been fun if it isn't for what seems to be a suspicious activity, especially for Bea!  
She ﬁnds out the farewell is actually for a familiar person, also correlating the fact with the guy being technically Bea's neighbor.  
Nevertheless, before anything else moves to make a conspiracy inside her mind, Mae ﬁnds herself startled as she heard the sedan's engine roar alive.  
Roaring has a nice ring to it, yet she can only imitate it with a low mew.

Mae hurriedly skips along the powerlines and lands from above the Video Outpost Too just in time to signal Bea of her presence.  
Her friend politely stops by and slides down the window, immediately revealing her ever grumpy face with a roll of cigarette.  
"Hey, Bea! What did you talk to Danny about?"  
"Who?"  
"Your neighbor!"  
"I don't recall anyone of that name, nor will I bother to really," Bea grunts as she seems to glance behind the car. "You getting in or will you just walk home?"  
"The guy who used to work with you in the Ol' Pickaxe?"

Mae smirks as she opens the back door and jumps inside. Bea grunts in acknowledgment of the act, before running the car once more. "Oh, that Danny. The Taco's kitchen needed something. You wouldn't be able to comprehend it."  
"Try me!" The feline challenges.  
"I give up," the crocodile mutters, a little muffled as she lit another cig. "Not in the mood."  
"Not in the mood annoyed or not in the mood disinterested?"  
"Guh... disinterest."  
"Well, it's cool to see you getting along with different people!" Mae chuckles as if as a tease. "Maybe one of your neighbors will end up as your boyfriend, eh?"  
"I hope not. It's all just because of my job."  
"Nailed it!"

"Was that a joke just now?" Bea asks.  
"Probably." Mae smirks, making sure her expression can be seen from the front mirror. "Anyway, you seem to be early today?"  
The crocodile grunts as she checked a gadget for the time, showing the 4:20 on its clock. "Your sense of time is muddled by boredom and the rainy atmosphere."  
"I slept _that_ long?!" Mae almost screams, before gasping in interest. "That's hours of not getting shit from birds! I must have some sort of divine protection!"  
"Great. You've converted back." The roll on her eyes and evident sarcasm did not need any more replies and Mae just chuckles.

The sedan stops soon enough right before the cat's house, not that Mae expected much.  
Bea is not a person for her to suggest sightseeing on the farmlands up ahead Possum Springs.  
As the smaller friend walks out of the car, Bea sighs as she adjusts her mouth-held cigarette. "Don't let them change you, Mae. Just be who you are."  
"What?"  
"Not repeating."

Puffs of smoke fly up from her cigarette, momentarily blackening sight of the sky.  
Deep down, Mae understood anyway. Not that she would push her friend for more.  
Nevertheless, she takes the opportunity to smirk and lean by her side for a few more words.

"You should be a poet like Selmers!"  
She is given a confused look, with a raised eyebrow. "That one who found a rhyme for entrepreneur?"  
"Yep, that's the one!" Mae exclaims cheerfully, only to wear a squinted face with bared teeth afterwards. "You got this _daaark_ aura that will spook and enchant your listeners."  
Bea looks at her friend as if she's gone mad. "Eh. One job at a time."

Somehow, her words are enough to ease her nerves much more.  
There had been tension after all... maybe why she slept yet again; wanting to be free from all the terrifying normal stuff other people seem to be involved in.  
But really...  
Who cares about being normal when you can have a bad-ass friend like Bea?  
Not Mae.

"Bea..?" says Mae as she glances a bit behind her.  
"Yeah?"  
"You want to like..." The cat pouts as she uncharacteristically rubs her hands in nervousness. "...check my room or something?"  
The crocodile's eyes narrows in skepticism. "For what? Got something interesting?"  
"Am I not interesting enough?"

For a few seconds, the two friends look at each other in the eyes - one with a small smile and the other offering a complementary shrug.  
"Eh," Bea grunts as she goes out the sedan, locking the door behind her. "I guess I have my free time."

For that moment, Mae's smile turns into a hearty grin.  
She guides the grumpy friend along her house, silently hoping neither of her parents is home yet.

Well, for that moment, everything is ﬁne.  
And fun.

\- O – O – O – O – O -

" _What do you want to do, Bea?"  
\- Mae B._


End file.
